Monday, August 31, 2009

When God Speaks Out Of The Whirlwind



The Book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. It was written during the time of the Patriarchs (Methusalah,Abraham,Isaac,Jacob, Joseph)~somewhere in that time period.Last night I didn't sleep well. Several things were going through my mind concerning a friend who is hurting a great deal.Her 5 year old son passed away several months ago.I thought of Job, a man who hadstrong convictions and a strong relationship with and love for God.So does my friend and her husband.However, a strong relationship with God will not sidestep grief or its' stages .And so, Job ran through my mind.I realized during my night musings that Job was written BEFORE Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers ,Deuteronomy.This was nothing new to me but it suddenly occurred to me that since God inspired the writing of the scriptures that He determined it should be written long before the account of Creation was given to Moses and long before the giving of the Law.The Hurting of Job preceded the Ten Commandments.It preceded the 613 Laws given in the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible).I wondered if it was because God is not distanced from us but is acutely in tune with our sorrows .Laughter, grief,anger,fear,frustration ,relief,hope,despair,etc are all emotions that are part of the soul.
Two interesting verses in Exodus 6:2-3 state "And God spake unto Moses,and said unto him,I am the LORD :And I appeared unto Abraham,unto Isaac,and unto Jacob by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." The Hebrew words for God Almighty are El Shaddai .('El' equivalent to 'power'and means God.'Shaddai' refers to the Almighty but the root of the word, 'Shad' is also the word for a woman's breast. God is the nurturer and all sufficient One.(NO, he's not female).He lacks nothing to provide for our needs.As you get into the Books of the Law, especially Leviticus, you learn of the Holiness of God, hence His name Jehovah.It comes from a combination of two root hebrew words~ "Yah" and "Havah" meaning 'To Be ' and the 'Self Existant One' (another study all in itself).
Job understood God as his provider,that He nurtured him and his understanding of God was that if he(Job) conducted himself righteously and obeyed God than he would not be cursed .Job genuinely wanted to please God .



The above picture suggests that while you think that you are in the darkest of night,something worse beyond your wildest imagination is coming toward you. What do you do?
Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch woman who lived in Holland during the German occupation under Hitler. Her family hid Jews and helped them escape out of the country.Eventually they were caught.The father died of a heart attack before he was shipped to a concentration camp,her brother and his wife were killed.They managed a nursing home and cared for mentally retarded people.I forget what happened to Nollie, her sister but I know she died.She also lost another sister in the concentration to starvation & illness that ensued.Corrie survived and held onto her faith in Jesus Christ that she and her sister shared with others in the camps they were sent to.But she survived alone.All of her family were dead.Christmas would never be the same.Her famous story I never forgot was one her father told her.She asked her dad, when she was very young,a question that would require an explanation about the 'birds & the bees'.She was too young to understand at the time. Her father said to her, "Corrie, do you remember when we went to the train station and had the heavy suitcase?" She said, "Yes", she remembered. "It was too heavy for you to carry, although you struggled and tried. I said, 'Corrie, Let me carry this for you',and so we got on the train and continued on.". Corrie said that some things are too heavy a burden to carry and we must surrender them to God to carry for us.
It was not over for Corrie Ten Boom when she was released from the concentration camp.After the War she prayed for where God would use her. She would surrender her life to Him and serve Him. She became involved in Half Way Houses for concentration camp survivors to help them recover.One day she was at a speaking engagement where a large group of people gathered and she spoke of the Forgiveness of God and Salvation that was given freely to all . Lo and behold, who stood in the group but a German soldier who was in the camp where Corrie was imprisoned.He was involved with the death of her sister.Out of nowhere a darkness and hatred for this man resurrected itself. She wanted others to be Saved, but he was different.Not him. She wanted him punished, to suffer like her sister and so many others had.After she spoke, this man approached her with tears in his eyes ,broken and filled with remorse.As I recall, he did not remember her but she sure remembered him.Her most difficult decision and SURRENDER to God was to forgive this man.She later told him who she was and her concentration camp story and gave him her forgiveness. She said that at that moment a very great weight was lifted from her.Consider how she became a commrade to Christ in spiritual warfare and learned, first hand,the first lesson of agape' love~ forgiveness.
The New Jerusalem, the capital city of God,is described in Revelation.It is surrounded by 12 gates in its walls. The foundations are jewels and a huge pearl is in each gate.You must enter through a pearl. What is involved in the making of a pearl? It is the only ORGANIC jewel. 'Google' the making of a pearl and see what YOU come up with.All things like this are significant and represent something.
Bible study is a bottomless well of Living Water.~~~ ENJOY!!

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